6 very good reasons advertisers should pay more attention to women online

When one looks at social media, today it seems more appropriate to take gender into consideration than age. The digital landscape seems to have eliminated generational boundaries, but how do the genders compete in this space?

After looking at a recent research report published by Nielsen, it’s glaringly obvious that women are making their mark and staking their claim in what used to be considered a male driven territory.

A force to be reckoned with

Looking at the numbers, it seems that women have a tendency to engage more than men. But that should have been obvious considering their heightened sense of emotional capacity. Think that’s just being feminist? Well, have a look at the stats:

1. Brand following
Women are 18% more likely than to follow a brand on Facebook or other social media sites. In contrast, men are 21% less likely to do so.

2. Traditional media conversions to online purchases
Women are 12% more likely to purchase a product featured on TV online.

3. Online presence
Six percent of women are more likely to create at least one online profile compared to men who are seven percent less likely to have done so.

4.Blog profiles
Women are eight percent more likely to create a personal blog, while men are nine percent less likely to do so.

5. Social media activity
65% of women use social media at least once a week, while only 51% of men do the same.

6. Facebook updates
On average, women update their status up to 11 times per week, where men are only likely to have up to six updates per week.

Looking at the figures, you can see that it would be foolhardy deny that women have become a force to be reckoned with online.

Although women have been known to be the key decision makers in many purchasing trends within traditional media, it appears that they are becoming a lot more influential online. Perhaps marketers need to consider this as they go forward and develop social media marking strategies. In fact, research company Gartner reckons that tech firms need to hire more women in high-powered positions if they are to take advantage of this very trend.

Fish where the fish are

The key thing about women having such a predominant presence online is not just that they are more likely to purchase online, they’re more likely than men to be online. As is the case in the real world, they are more likely to talk to others, share their opinions, and write a blog about it. All online. Women today have a strong focus on creating an online presence for themselves and this generally encompasses using a number of different social media and digital platforms.

Globally, women spend on average two hours more than men online each month according to a 2010 ComScore study, and the Neilson report shows that the they are a lot better at multitasking than their male counterparts. Something to bear in mind before investing millions into you next TV ad.